Transcendent Men: Hegel and Posthumanism (Part 2)

We continue with the second podcast in the series about Hegel and Posthumanism. This time we explore the way Hegel tried to solve the problem of alienation of subject and object, i.e. the alienation of man and reality.

The method he applied to accomplish this is what we call Hegelian dialectics.

Hegel claims that rift existing between man and the world can be bridged by historical development of consciousness through finite number of intermediary stages resulting in absolute identity of knowledge and being, i.e. absolute knowledge.

This idea is something quite analogous to posthumanist’s attempt to transcend humanity in absolute power of technology.

While explaining the notion of Hegelian dialectics, we point out differences he retains towards posthumanist project and how, nevertheless, they share common core belief that there’s a rift between the man and the world; in Hegel’s case it must be bridged through absolute knowledge – in posthumanists through absolute power, two terms that are not downright identical but are essentially rooted in the same urge: of man becoming God.